EMMITSBURG, Pa.—The Hobart College lacrosse team cut a three-goal deficit to one late in the Northeast Conference Championship game, but couldn't find the equalizer before time ran out, falling to Robert Morris University 11-10 at Mount St. Mary's Waldron Family Stadium this afternoon.
 
The Statesmen (11-5) led 6-3 late in the third quarter, but the Colonials (9-7), who extended their winning streak to eight games, ripped off five straight goals to take an 8-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. RMU had five different goal scorers during the run. Senior Chris Aslanian stopped the run, scoring off an assist from junior Eric Holden at the 11:20 mark. The Colonials answered with two more goals to push their advantage to 10-7.
 
It remained a three-goal game as the clock ticked under six minutes, but junior Justin Scott scored back-to-back goals 38 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game. RMU's Corson Kealey scored what proved to be the game-winner with 1:48 remaining, but the Statesmen needed just seven seconds to close the gap again. Senior Matthew Pedicine won the ensuing faceoff, charged into the box and fed Holden, who scored his team-leading 45th goal of the season. The goal tied Alex Love '15 atop Hobart's Division I single season list.
 
The Statesmen got off a pair of shots in the waning seconds but the last one was sent wide by a well-timed check from a Colonial defender. Robert Morris collected the loose ball and, with the help of an illegal body check penalty against Hobart, was able to run out the clock to repeat as NEC Champions.
 
Pedicine was 12-of-24 on faceoffs with an assist, a team-high six ground balls and a caused turnover. Scott led the offense with three goals and an assist while Holden and sophomore Ryan Archer each had two goals and an assist. In goal, junior Sam Lucchesi made 15 saves.
 
Pedicine, Scott and Lucchesi were named to the NEC All-Tournament team.
 
Ryan Smith paced RMU with three goals and an assist. Kealey added two goals and an assist, while Matt Schmidt and Jake Boudreau each scored twice. Smith and Schmidt shared team-high honors with four ground balls apiece. Goalie Alex Heger, the tournament MVP, made 12 saves.
 
Hobart had a 43-42 edge in shots and committed three fewer turnovers (16-19), but Robert Morris controlled the battle for ground balls, 33-27.
 
The first quarter was a quiet one for both offenses with just two goals scored. Smith opened the scoring about two minutes into the game. Hobart got the goal back near the middle of the frame when senior Stanny Gilbertson scored an unassisted goal in transition.
 
The offenses started to heat up in the second quarter, with the Statesmen outscoring the Colonials 4-2 for a 5-3 halftime lead. Nineteen seconds in, Archer scored an extra-man goal off an assist from Aslanian. RMU answered about a minute later. Hobart went back in front on a highlight reel goal by Scott. From behind the cage, he drove to goal line extended, used a spin move to shake his defender and scored on a diving shot. Boudreau tied the game two minutes later, but Holden and first-year Jason Knox scored back-to-back for the halftime lead. Knox finished his rookie campaign with 36 goals, the most by a Hobart first-year since 1986.
 
Archer gave the Statesmen a 6-3 lead with the first goal of the second half, setting the stage for the dramatic ending.
 
Hobart finished the season with the most wins since 1994 when it also won 11 games in its final season in Division III. The Statesmen produced 223 goals and 148 assists for 371 points, all Northeast Conference season records. It's the most goals, assists and points in a season by a Hobart team since the 1990 team won the Division III national championship.
 
The 13 Statesmen seniors completed their Hobart careers with a record of 34-29, the most wins by a graduating class since the Class of 1996 (34-19).

[Editor's Note: This story was updated on May 7, 2019, after it was discovered that a computer error underreported the ground ball statistics.]